Nebraska Extension 4-H Youth Development staff hosted a 4-H educational field day for 116 third and fourth grade students in Alliance on Thursday, October 14 at the Alliance Recreation Center. Animals Inside and Out is an Ag Literacy 4-H program where youth gain knowledge and understanding of the livestock industry, develop science skills and abilities to solve everyday situations, and become aware of careers related to animal science.
During the field day, youth learned about the different systems within an animal’s body through nine different hands-on stations. Students had the ability to develop a cereal ration, build a joint, discover how many items they use daily that would not be possible without animals, see the inside of a beef heart, learn about the animal’s reproductive tract, pet farm animals and more! Nebraska Extension 4-H staff traveled from across the panhandle to help teach youth this program, with the goal of the students gaining a better understanding about where their food comes from, animal by-products, different agriculture-related careers , and learning about the body systems. Some fun highlights from the day were students were able to see a real beef heart, female reproductive tract and bones! At the end of the program youth completed a survey. As a result of the Animals Inside and Out Program, 88% of youth said, “I think Animal Science is cool,” 89% of youth said, “I learned something new today,” and 86% said, “I know farmers make good choices to keep our food safe.”